


wilted flowers, jilted cowards

by FrozenHearts



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Crying, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, FE3H Kinkmeme, Families of Choice, Family Issues, Female My Unit | Byleth, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Flowers, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Garreg Mach Monastery (Fire Emblem), Gen, Holding Hands, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Kink Meme, Male-Female Friendship, Mentioned Claude von Riegan, Mentioned Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, Mentioned Edelgard von Hresvelg, Mentioned Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Mentioned Gilbert Pronislav, Mentioned Mercedes von Martritz, Mentioned My Unit | Byleth, Mentioned Sylvain Jose Gautier, Post-Time Skip, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pre-Slash, Singing, War, kink meme fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:35:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24500923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenHearts/pseuds/FrozenHearts
Summary: Annette finds Dedue in the greenhouse after returning to Garreg Mach
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic & Dedue Molinaro, Annette Fantine Dominic & Gilbert Pronislav, Annette Fantine Dominic/Dedue Molinaro, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18
Collections: FE3H Kink Meme





	wilted flowers, jilted cowards

**Author's Note:**

> This was a kink meme fill from the FE3H meme and the basic idea was the prompter wanted Dedue and someone holding hands, preferably during a quiet moment post time skip

Being back at Garreg Mach was.... strange, to say the least. 

Five years prior, Annette could remember walking through it's halls with a book in her arm and Mercedes at her side, chattering inanely about taste-testing whatever concoction Mercedes baked up that week. She remembered, as she walked down it's now crumbling halls, picking weeds in the gardens with Sylvain and Felix- Sylvain always made Felix do his portion of the work in exchange for free lunch, and Felix always obliged because who could turn down free food?

The stone walkway was worn underfoot as she walked now through the very same gardens, walls tumbling to rubble and the former green glory looking yellowed and unkempt. There was an eerie silence as she went, sending a chill down her spine with a brisk wind and she had half a mind to go turn back around and leave, just hop on the nearest horse and go as far as she could-

No. Noz she couldn't do that, she realized as she neared the stairs leading to the pond. 

Dimitri was dead. Professor Byleth was obviously different in some way, and if they were going to win this war, she couldn't just go. She couldn't leave now.

The pond was still, small ripples here and there from small droplets and Annette fixed her cloak to cover herself from the light drizzle. Shoes clacking with each step, the rain seemed to pick up as she quickened her pace, and it wasn't until she made it to the greenhouse that she realized her shoes had not been made for running through puddles; a quick glance told her the pretty blue suede was permanently ruined, her toes soaked inside. 

The greenhouse, at least, was empty, save for her squishing feet and Annette allowed herself to heave a sigh of relief; Mercedes would definitely scold her for almost catching a cold later, but at least she was out of the rain for now.

"Annette?"

Annette jumped, hand against her chest as she squealed in surprise. Whirling around, she found Dedue kneeling a few feet away- dirt and roots and flower seeds were littered around him, smelling mulchy and rotten at the same time. 

"Oh, Dedue!" Annette giggled, "I'm sorry- I didn't realize you were here."

Dedue offered a small grin, if it could be called that. More like a slight twitch before he bowed his head, gesturing with a sweep of his arm, "I apologize for scaring you. Please, feel free to sit with me."

Annette could feel her smile stretching painfully, shaking her head. She couldn't remember the last time.she had seen Dedue in person, not since....

Since.....

Well. Since Dimitri, she supposed. After Edelgard's takeover and Claude's disappearance, Dimitri seemed to follow his fellow leader's suit, although there had been no sign of him. Each patrol, each raven sent to fly over Faerghus, every missive Byleth sent to her former mercenary band offered nothing. As time passed, everyone slowly moved on from finding him, the threat of Edelgard's forces and the invasion of Almyra looking over them, a snarling dog waiting to strike when the time was right.

Dedue, though, seemed to cling to the notion they would find Dimitri soon. As his right hand, Annette knew it was to be expected; after the fall of Duscur, Dedue dedicated himself body and soul to the man who's father destroyed his life, thinking of nothing else but serving the boy who he hoped would put things right.

Annette found it to be a little sad, if she was being honest. It reminded her of herself, a little bit, with her father.

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and Annette pushed the thought away. Slowly, she picked at the damp fabric of her skirt, stepping carefully over to the flowerbeds and rearranging her dress to sit next to him. 

"What are you planting?" Annette asked, leaning forward to get a better look at the yellow petals Dedue was handling. The stems were thin, and she muffled a soft laugh as he accidentally snapped one, a quick curse muttered under his breath as he put it down and reached for another one.

"Daffodils," Dedue replied. Annette made a small noise in confirmation, watching as Dedue cradled each flower in his big hands before gently placing it in the dirt. There was something almost ceremonial about the way he did it, how his scarred fingers carefully carded through the soil and patted down each mound of dirt before he moved on to the next one. 

A few minutes passed as they sat there. The rain pattered softly against the glass windows of the greenhouse; it picked up at some point, now a torrent instead of a gentle fall. 

"I don't really remember if it rained in Duscur," Dedue said suddenly, his deep voice rumbling like a clap of thunder.

Annette froze, unsure if she should say anything. They didn't learn too much about Duscur, if she was being honest, and what little she knew was through baking with Dedue when they were on kitchen duty during school. Their food was spicy, with lots of curries and pasted and rice, but she doubted Dedue was talking about that.

"Oh," she said dumbly, "I'm sure it was nice."

Dedue shrugged, "I was pretty young. When Faerghus took over."

There was an unmentioned shame hanging off his words; it was heavy in the air, weighing down until Annette found herself looking away, focusing her gaze on the yellow flowers Dedue had just planted.

"We're daffodils native to Duscur?" she asked.

"No," Dedue said, "these are Dimitri's favorite."

Annette sighed, a soft "I see," with a quiver in her lower lip. 

Silence came again, as the two of them sat there, staring at the plantsike they knew the answer to whatever problems they had. Like they would tell them where Claude ran off to, how Felix put up with Sylvain for so long, if Dimitri was still alive-

"It was raining when my dad left me and my mom."

Annette regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth, fave burning as Dedue looked at her with so much fucking sympathy and she could feel a single tear break free to slide down her cheek. 

"He, uh..." Annete trailed, picking at the hem of her skirt, "He was one of the knights leading Faerghus's occupation of Duscur, actually."

Annette paused here, bracing herself for Dedue's reaction. He was big, bigger than her and while she had magic, he was so close, he could just reach over and wrap one of his scarred hands around her throat and be done and she wouldn't blame him, and-

"I am sorry to hear that."

Annette inked at him owlishly, "What?"

"To hear that," Dedue clarified, "about your father."

Annette leaned forward, fingers clenching and unclenching a Ashe spluttered, "Wha-! Why are you apologizing?!"

Dedue frowned, glancing at the daffodils before sheigging, shifting his weight so he could stretch his legs out in front of him. The pelt of the rain skipped in time with Annette's heartbeat, banging against her ribs until she thought they would burst, the blood pounding in her ears until her temples started to throb.

"You didn't want your father to leave," Dedue said simply.

"And you probably didn't want to have your home invaded," was what Annette wanted to say, but she didn't. 

"When we first met, I thought you would hate me because if him," Annette spit out, the words acid on her tongue.

Dedue chuckled, "You are not your father, though."

Annette averted her gaze, "What about your father?"

Dedue raised an eyebrow at her, asking so clearly it hurt "What about my father?"

"Don't you miss him?" Annette asked nervously, adding "I- I miss my father, sometimes."

"Sometimes," Dedue agreed, his face contorting into something Annette couldn't really describe, "He was a blacksmith. Made weapons."

"That sounds nice," Annette said.

Dedue hummed, "I didn't see him very often, since he was always working. And then we were invaded and I never saw him again. My mother, either."

"Because of my dad," Annette said, "or at least, partly."

Dedue opened his mouth to say something, only to close it when he failed to say anything. He ran his hand along a trail of fertilizer on the ground, scratching small circles into it with his index finger.

"Your guilt is misplaced, I think," Dedue finally said, "your father may have had a hand in taking away my family, but Dimitri has helped in giving me a new one."

He wiped his hands off on his pants leg before reaching over and oh so gently cupping her face in his hand; his skin was rough from battle and hard work but warm and solid and safe and Annette didn't realize she was crying freely now until she felt his thumb wipe away her tears.

"Your father did the same for you," Dedue said, leaning closer, reaching with his other hand to take hers. Grasping it, he squeezed once, his fingers almost swallowing her own.

"He wants nothing to do with me," Annette corrected him. She could still remember her mother wailing after him, begging him to stay.

"But your new family does," Dedue shifted so their legs touched. Tentatively, he reached around her, cuddling her into his side and she was grateful he didn't say anything when she leaned her head on his shoulder, sniffling and wiping her nose on his shoulder. They say like that for who knows how long, listening to the rain beating against the greenhouse windows, and Annette could hear the rumble of Dedue's chest with each breath he took, shivering as he rubbed her arm with a comforting hand that made her just cry harder. 

"Annette," Dedue said after a while, "what was that song you sang, back in school?"

"Which song?" Annette managed a shaky laugh, "I had a lot of stupid ones to remember for math tests."

A laugh rang in Annette's ear as Dedue have her a reassuring squeeze.

"I remember hearing Felix singing one of your songs before a lecture with Hanneman," Dedue said fondly. Annette pressed herself closer to Dedue, until she felt Dedue's chin pressed into the crown of her head. There was a quick press of lips to her scalp, just where the part in her hair began and an wave of calm washed over her as Dedue began humming. 

It didn't sound like anything she made up or recognized, but his voice was nice, a deep baritone that almost managed to lull her to sleep. Wordlessly, Annette reached for Dedue's hand again, clasping it in both of hers and she squeezed as tight as she could, rubbing her thumbs along hie knuckles as he began to half-sing bits and pieces of the song, the lyrics lazy as they ambled from his mouth to tickle the shell of her ear, and for a minute there was no war, there were no absent fathers and broken families left to shatter like glass.

"That's a pretty song," Annette said, making herself more comfortable in his embrace, "where did you learn it?"

Dedue smiled down at her, pressing his cheek into her hair as he shrugged.

"Just something I made up," he said, and once they were both comfortable, he resumed, rocking slowly with Annette while the rain continued to fall outside.


End file.
